Table Talks with Les Dames: Celebrating Women’s Achievements

LDEI Quarterly (Summer 2021)

Elevated Irish: Celebrating St Patrick’s Day the St. Louis Way ST. LOUIS CHAPTER

By Alyse K. Scaglione

Martha Kemper and Whitney Linsenmeyer kicked off our March 9 event with some helpful Zoom etiquette followed by a magnificent lecture on the Irish presence and celebrations in St. Louis. We rolled into our filmed demonstrations; chef/owner Grace Dinsmoor of Chela Tapas prepared Colcannon Croquettes a-Smiling, basic potato croquettes elevated with the addition of brussels sprouts and a whole grain mustard sauce. Fran Caradonna, CEO of local St Louis Brewery-Schlafly Beer gave a brief look at one of her favorite golden beers, Schlafly Kolsch. Next was Darla Crask, owner of Ices Plain & Fancy, with her unforgettable “Freakshake” milkshake take on Irish coffee utilizing Five Farms Irish Cream, Jameson Irish whiskey, local Ronnoco coffee, and festive toppings.

Alyse Scaglione, pastry chef at Meadowbrook Country Club, was last with an Irish American adaptation of classic soda bread featuring an enriched dough with apples, golden raisins, and caraway seeds. After the demonstrations, Darla and Alyse fielded questions giving further insight on flour substitutions, how to make coffee concentrations (or cold brew toddy), our unexpected parallel paths into the world of desserts, working with mistakes, and how to obtain Darla’s amazing nitrogen ice cream specialties.

The first twentyfive local registrants received goodie bags filled with items from our sponsons: a mini loaf of Chef Alyse’s Irish American Soda Bread, Ronnoco house blend coffee, Schlafly’s Kolsch and Oatmeal Stout beers, Five Farms Irish Cream from Lohr Distributing, WellBeing Brewery’s Coffee Cream Non-Alcoholic Stout, personal protective equipment from Larson’s Medical Supply, and eco-friendly, disposable serveware and coupon code from Natural Tableware.

One hundred percent of our registrants’ contributions go to our chapter’s grant, scholarship, and philanthropic efforts. We look forward to in-person events again; in the meantime, this platform is the perfect way to keep our community connected. “Ag guí sláinte agus sonais ort” (“wishing you health and happiness” in Irish) from the St. Louis Chapter.